The discount will apply at checkout. I’ll also be releasing new patterns that will be perfect for quick Christmas gifts or to make for yourself and your family–keep your eye out for them, they’ll be here in a few days! There will be an exciting, fun new Pokemon Inspired pattern later this week, and The Crunchy Carrot Market Bag is will be in the Pattern Store this weekend.Slippers, socks, a scarf, a washcloth/soap sack spa set, toys…lots of new designs coming in September, as well as a MYSTERY CROCHET-ALONG and KNIT-ALONG!

If you need more inspiration meantime, you can check out the Interweave Store!

Save 30% on hundreds of crafting resources. No coupon needed. Sale runs now through 9/5. Some exclusions apply. In addition, be sure to also check out the just released Atoll Cowl Kit. It is on sale, too, and the link is on the right, just below the “Interweave Store” tab.

Happy Labour Day…enjoy this weekend, and let me know if you need help with any of my designs. The quickest way to get help is usually to write a personal message on my Facebook Page: West Coast Fibre Arts

Only a short post tonight, because today there are only 2 Rows to complete: we have reached the centre of the counterpane square! The next post will be much longer, and give you the rest of the rows to complete the centre. Then we will just have the easy lace insertion design to put around the square–or to use for the bottom, sides, and handle of a tote bag 🙂

For those interested in knitting Victorian style counterpanes, there are quite a few patterns available to recreate them. The University of Pennsylvania has scanned online a pdf of Mrs. George (Anne Jane) Cupples A Knitting-Book of Counterpanes, first published in 1871. Those of us who are fans of the L. M. Montgomery ‘Anne of Green Gables‘ novels remember that character Rachel Lynde had knit 16 cotton counterpanes, a remarkable feat! If you don’t have the time or need to make a full size counterpane, you can always use the designs to make smaller items–an afghan, or baby blanket, a pillow top, or (as I’m doing) a tote bag. Some of the patterns, like the one this KAL explores, are squares; some are knit in strips or ‘stripes,’ some in hexagons, triangles, or diamonds. In the coming days I’ll rewrite a crocheted counterpane pattern, so that those who don’t knit can participate in an exploration of vintage counterpanes. One I’ve considered making for quite awhile is this design from Godey’s Magazine, 1862; I think it would make a lovely lace shawl or rectangular scarf.

The instructions for the mini mystery have now been uploaded, so if you have pre-purchased please check your email or Ravelry messages for the update link.

If you’d like to purchase Victoria’s Secrets, you may do so by clicking on the photo of Queen Victoria…you will be whisked away to the Ravelry pattern store!

(c) The Royal Hospitals; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

Today is Queen Victoria’s birthday, and this little design is a small and humble homage to her. She reigned long and sometimes gloriously–and even non-Commonwealth members of the western world know that extended period as the Victorian era, whether referring to literature, fashion, sociology, or many other facets of ‘civilization.’

I hope that you enjoy this little design–I certainly have! Please get in touch if you need any help or find any errors.

I had planned to have a Giveaway to celebrate reaching the 2000 Fan Milestone on my FaceBook page…but last night, after West Coast: Super, Natural reached 1999 “Likes”, Facebook deleted 800 fans! So unless it was a glitch that they correct, it will be some time before the 2000 Fan count is reached again. Meanwhile…all those 800 fans who had wanted to see posts about new patterns, giveaways, and works-in-progress will not see the West Coast posts. So if you are/were a fan of the Page, please check to see if you need to click on “Like” again to follow my Facebook posts.

Meanwhile…as a Thank you to the 2000+ fans who have supported me and shown interest in my patterns and fibre work, and as a Countdown to Christmas, I am going to post a link to one of my patterns every day…with a coupon code so that you can get it FREE for just 3 hours!! So head on over to the West Coast to see which pattern is free from 3PM Pacific Time until 6:30 PM Pacific Time today…and be sure to check back tomorrow to see the new free design! IT WILL NOT BE POSTED AT THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY, so if you do not want to miss them be sure to ‘Like’ the page so you see the posts in your news feed–and to continue seeing them, comment on a post or click ‘like’ on a post, or else Facebook does not show them in your news feed. FACEBOOK PAGE

And don’t forget…the BUY 1 GET 1 FREE PATTERN sale is still on until tonight at Midnight Pacific Time! Ravelry Coupon Code to add at the checkout: givethanks

Happy Thanksgiving to all my US friends! To help celebrate I am having a BUY 1 GET 1 FREE SALE: Choose from any patterns in my Ravelry Store, and at the checkout use the code: givethanks

You can use the code as many times as you like, for any of my patterns, from now until midnight Pacific Time on November 30/2014.

I will be adding 2 more patterns Friday–the Myadora Cowl and the Myadora Cloth. Both were inspired by a Victorian D’oyley or “Toilet Mat” design and use a lovely, simple spiraling shell stitch. In the Victorian era, a “toilet table” was what we would more likely call a “vanity” today, and the tiny “mat” made in crochet thread would have been used to put under a little bottle of scent or some other small item.

The “Entwisted Cloth” free pattern, designed to thank all my followers and fans on Facebook for “1000 Likes Milestone Reached” is now available in my Ravelry Pattern Store. Please take a moment to add it to your Favourites in Ravelry and feel free to share the link on Facebook.

This cloth is knitted with a simple but really effective knitted mesh lace that I found in a Victorian book from 1871. There are a lot of photos–so if you are a beginning knitter you can make this cloth. All you need to know is cast on, knit, slip a stitch, yarn forward, knit 2 together, and cast off. If you haven’t done a yarn over or a knit 2 together, there is a photo tutorial at the end of the pattern to show how to do them.

Soon there will be another design in “A Victorian Potpourri for Bed and Bath” that uses this stitch pattern, and making a cloth is a really useful way to learn new stitches. I think this cloth in the size I made only used about 25g of worsted weight Bernat Handicrafter Cotton (with 5mm needles), so you could make a set of 3 from a ball of cotton–a lovely gift for someone on your Christmas gift, if you wrap it up with a bar of locally handcrafted soap!